Landmines in the Vietnam War
Ordnance and use of mines French mines The French made limited use of mines in the beginnings of the independence war in Indochina.Landmine Monitor Report - Page 514 1999 - "Use - Mines were used in all phases of the war in Vietnam, including by the French forces in the 1950s.7" footnote "7. International Committee of the Red Cross. Landmines, Friend or Foe? Geneva, March 1996" American and South Vietnamese mines The M14 mine blast-type anti-personnel mine used by the United States during the Vietnam War was known as the "toe popper."John L. Plaster SOG: the secret wars of America's commandos in Vietnam '' 1997 "Mining a back trail was easy using the M-14 "toe popper," a mine that was the diameter of a soda can but only one-third as long ... Designed to injure one foot — hence its nickname — the toe popper was compact and carried by the dozen." Earlier examples of the toe-popper were the Soviet-made PMK-40The Rotarian - Feb 2011 - Page 34 Vol. 189, No. 8 "The M14 blast-type anti-personnel mine used by the United States during the Vietnam War was known as the "toe-popper." Earlier examples of the toe-popper were the Soviet-made PMK-40 and the British-made "ointment box." and the WWII "ointment box." Marvin G. Jensen ''Strike swiftly!: the 70th Tank Battalion from North Africa to to Normandy to Germany 1997 "(Shermans with drums protruding in front with heavy chains that "flailed" the ground, exploding mines close to the surface.) Also there were "ointment box" mines, so called because that was what they resembled." North Vietnamese mines The North Vietnamese forces made extensive use of a variety of homemade booby traps including the old French trou de loup set with Bengali punji sticks. The Vietnamese termed the smaller mines đạp lôi (đạp lôi "step-and-pull") or mìn muỗi (mìn muỗi "mosquito mine"). The Vietnamese equivalent of the American toe popper was a booby trap made of an empty .50 caliber machine gun shell filled with gunpowder or other explosive powder and scrap metal. The casing is sealed in wax and placed in a bamboo cylinder with a nail in the bottom, which is then buried in the ground so only the wax on top is showing. "Dap loi were made from empty .50 caliber machine gun shells that were filled with new powder and chunks of scrap ... They included carefully concealed land mines, grenades triggered by hidden trip wires placed alongside jungle trails or on.." When a person steps on the wax top the casing is pressed in to the nail which then blows scrap metal into the soldier's foot. Dap loi is rarely fatal but can blow a toe off and causes very painful wounds. Its most prevalent use was during the Vietnam War by Vietcong guerrillas attempting to find simple methods to slow the advancing U.S. forces down.vnmilitaryhistory.net "Thí dụ, chế tạo đạp lôi từ đạn súng trường, súng máy; cải tiến pháo thu được của địch để làm mìn, v.v… Đạp lôi - vũ khí lợi hại của chiến tranh nhân dân." đạp lôi (photo) "Mìn muỗi ngòi nụ xùy. 24. Mìn lá kiểu Bến Tre" The MD-82 mine was a Vietnamese copy of the M-14 "toe popper." Casualties Vietnamese American landmines caused extensive casualties and amputees within among the Vietnamese civilian population.What Can You Do to Help Our World?: Dreams Turned Into Reality - Page 35 Barbara Wolf, Margaret Anderson - 2012 "At first, the foundation's concentration was on Vietnam because land mines in the Vietnam War resulted in 20% amputee casualties within the Vietnam population. Returning American veterans appealed to Dr. Burgess to help the victims." American Landmines were the leading cause of American casualties. In 1965 65-70% of US Marine Corps casualties were caused by mines and booby-traps.Landmines: A Deadly Legacy - Page 18 Physicians for Human Rights (U.S.) - 1993 - 510 pages - Full view Vietnamese forces, which used several dozen types of improvised or simply manufactured mines, proved that advanced technology was not needed to deploy landmines with deadly effectiveness. In 1965, one year for which detailed statistics are available, 65-70% of US Marine Corps casualties were caused by mines and booby-traps....Congressional Record - Page 20595 Congress -""Fact is, anti-personnel land mines were the leading cause of our casualties in Vietnam," Muller said, "and they are the leading cause of casualties for our peacekeepers through NATO and the UN," not to mention the peril they now pose " After the war After the fall of Saigon in April 1975 and the end of the Vietnam War, the Vietnamese government was left with the legacy of both Vietnamese and American mines. The US government has recently given some financial assistance for humanitarian mine action.Landmine Monitor Report - Page 726 2003 Total US humanitarian mine action funding to Vietnam was $3.638 million in US fiscal year 2002. ... in April 2002 for assistance in clearing mines and UXO along the route of the Ho Chi Minh Highway.90 International NGOs working in mine ..." See also * Land mines in Cambodia * Mine clearance agency References Category:Area denial weapons Category:Anti-personnel weapons Category:Military equipment of the Vietnam War Category:Anti-personnel mines Category:Vietnam War Category:Minefields